The present invention concerns a process for the preparation of a butterfat or vegetable butter replacer.
There is a general interest to create fats with a nutritional claim of low in cholesterol and reduced calories which can replace butterfat in some applications, particularly in ice cream or cream and cheese sauces, yogurt, cookie mixes and shortenings. One problem with known fats of vegetable origin which could replace butterfat is their high content in unsaturated fatty acids which may be detrimental to flavour due to oxidative breakdown leading to degradation products. Partially hydrogenated vegetable fats are no valuable alternative since they contain high amounts of nutritionally objectionable trans-fatty acids.
There is also a general interest the create fats of vegetable origin with a nutritional claim of reduced calories that are able to replace cocoa butter and confectionery fats such as cocoa butter equivalents based on tropical fats, i.e., palm oil fractions, or partially hydrogenated vegetable fats. Tropical fats contain high amounts of lauric or myristic acid which are perceived as health risk-linked., whereas partially hydrogenated vegetable fats contain high amounts of objectionable trans-fatty acids as previously stated.
European Patent Application Publication No. 322,027 is concerned with low calorie fats which are poor in unsaturated fatty acids and contain predominantly triglycerides with one long chain saturated and two medium chain fatty acids. One starting material for their production is fully hydrogenated high erucic acid rapeseed oil, and they thus contain fatty acids having C20 and higher carbons, predominantly behenic acid. They have reduced calorie density, acceptable organoleptic properties and a characteristic crystallization behaviour. They are prepared by random rearrangement of triglycerides with three long chain saturated fatty acids, containing behenic acid, with medium chain triglycerides and subsequent molecular distillation.